None
In another win for the ESA, a judge ruled against the Minnesota legislation that would have fined minors for buying video games rated M or AO.
“Judge Rosenbaum’s ruling proves once again that banning the sale of violent video games to minors is a direct violation of Constitutional rights,” commented Doug Lowenstein, President of the ESA. “This ruling is of particular interest because lawmakers tried to skirt the First Amendment issue by fining minors themselves for buying the games, not retailers, as they have tried in other states. We will move immediately for reimbursement of the substantial legal fees incurred in this court fight, which the state cavalierly launched knowing that every other court in America had struck down these kinds of statutes.”
In his decision, Judge James Rosenbaum, Chief District Judge for the Court of Minnesota, sharply addressed the issue. “There is no showing whatsoever that video games, in the absence of other violent media, cause even the slightest injury to children.” He also questioned the law, stating “several other states have tried to regulate minors’ access to video games. Every effort has been stricken for violating the First Amendment… The court will not speculate as the motives of those who launched Minnesota’s nearly doomed effort to “protect” our children. Who, after all, opposes protecting children? But, the legislators drafting this law cannot have been blind to its constitutional flaws.”
“Instead of squandering taxpayer’s money on frivolous lawsuits and attempting to enact such clearly unconstitutional legislation, we encourage lawmakers to invest in what we have asked for from the beginning – a cooperative effort on behalf of the industry, legislators, retailers, parent groups, and health groups to work together to educate parents about the ESRB ratings and context descriptors, and the parental controls available in all next generation consoles to help parents make sound choices about the games their kids play,” Lowenstein concluded.